“What does the King have planned for us?” Stefano asked, tossing his head back. I giggled, watching Romano prance around and shovel through his Star Wars movie collection. “Mama, guardiamo questo. Mama, let’s watch this.” Romano said, waving a Star Wars movie back and forth.
He pulled out three glow sticks he was playing with earlier, from under the couch.
“Tieni questo, Tieni questo. Hold this, hold this..” Romano said, bringing the sticks towards us.
He wanted Stefano and I to wave the glow sticks in the air like he does when watching Star Wars movies. I heard Stefano curse under his breath.
“Oh come on you big baby. Do it for your son.” I laughed at him. Stefano clenched his jaw as he took the stick from his son. “Wheee, fun.” I said teasing him, waving mine around.
“Keep laughing it up, Rae. You’ll get it from me soon enough.” Stefano said, a dirty smirk spotted on his face.
I smiled as Romano went behind his dad and began climbing Stefano’s back. “Sit down and watch the movie, Romano.” Stefano said firmly. I inwardly laughed. Romano probably pushed it with the glow stick thing. Now Stefano is being mean for no reason. Romano laughed and plopped down in between Stefano and I.
As the movie began to start, I was thankful Stefano was here to spend more time with us.
***
Caterina and I were out eating lunch the next afternoon. . It’d been a couple months since we’d done anything together. It felt good to catch up with her because from what I could see, she’s happier than she’s ever been. She always told me she wanted to travel more. Caterina had nothing to hold her back, so she was free to do whatever her heart desired.
I’m very happy for her after all she’s gone through. She’s lost her father and her brother. The amount of grief that weighed her down must’ve been unbearable. For a woman like her, it was spectacular that she dealt with it in better ways.
I almost couldn’t recognize her glow as we met each other again.
“Ugh, you have to go to Zanzibar with me one of these days. I visited this island in a region called, Nungwi. There was just so much to do! The most fun for me was going to the Baraka Natural Aquarium to swim with rescued and rehabilitated turtles!” Caterina was going on about her most recent travel to Tanzania. I was so interested because I’ve always wanted to travel to a few countries in Africa. I definitely had to follow Caterina on one of her adventures.
“Nungwi is where most of the luxury resorts and isolated pristine white sand beaches are in Zanzibar.” She informed me as well. She wiped her hands with the table napkins and picked up her phone. She showed me her lock screen which was of her lying in the white sand next to gorgeous turquoise waves. “I’ve never seen such beautiful water.” I commented.
“I said the same thing. Anyway, how’s your mother? I heard about the accident.” Caterina said, her tone turning more sincere. Her deep brown eyes stared into me with concern. “She’s recovering well. Slow, but in a good pace. I visited her this morning and the last thing she wants is for us to worry.” I answered her.
Caterina nodded her head in understanding. “Well, I’m relieved to hear that.” She gave me a simple smile and went back to eating her sandwich. I noticed there was something different about Caterina. It wasn’t anything bad or suspicious. There was a persona change, almost.
With Caterina’s newfound freedom, it seemed as though it brought out maturity. She wasn’t this spoiled girl that complained and squealed about petty things anymore. Caterina is now more calm and straightforward.
“Is there something wrong?” Caterina asked me, her eyebrows raising. I shook my head. “No, no.” I chuckled. She squinted her eyes at me in a playful manner before taking another bite.
Roaming my eyes from point to point in the restaurant, my eyebrows then began to furrow.
The side profile of the man I kept seeing at different places was one that I quickly recognized.
He had dark shaggy hair, always wore a mischievous grin, and the scar on his chin greatly stood out. He wasn’t a man of muscular build. He was more lean and tall in stature.
I was beginning to think that me seeing him more than a couple times, was more than just a coincidence.
I quickly turned away and looked down at my half eaten tuna sandwich as the man finished placing his order and began to walk past my table.
At that same moment, I heard fast approaching footsteps. I raised my head to see that Alessio had gotten up from his table and was also coming towards my table. “It’s confirmed.” I heard the man mutter as Alessio grabbed him by his shirt.
“What’s been confirmed?!” Alessio yelled.
Oh no.
Caterina’s eyes were wide and confused. The other customers had gasped and stopped what they were doing to watch the scene. Alessio must have been following my gaze at the man.
The young man raised both his hands in defense and shook his head. He furrowed his eyebrows as well. “Woah, just take it easy man, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He said calmly. Alessio gritted his teeth and shoved the man against the wall harshly. I jumped and covered my mouth, the customers doing the same.
“Alessio-”
“Cut the bullshit, boy. You’re playing a dangerous game here. I can kill you right here and right now and no one would say a word. I’m warning you. I see your face around here ever again, you’re dead.” Alessio was in his face now, a deadly glare in his dark eyes.
The young man slightly squinted his eyes at Alessio, a small smirk stretching his lips as well. “Understood.” He said slowly. Alessio let him go and watched as the man left the restaurant.
“Am I missing something?” Caterina asked.
I pressed my lips together before answering her. “The man that just left, I’ve been seeing him everywhere. I assume Alessio's picked up on it too and believes he’s stalking me.” I whispered to her.
I watched as Alessio returned back to his table as if he didn’t just threaten to kill a man.
Stefano’s POV
Romano was sitting next to me, his arms crossed and a serious countenance displayed on his face as he pretended to be apart of the conversation. I almost chuckled at him. Is that how we look to him? The fact that his feet dangled off the couch made everything much more hilarious.
I had decided this morning to take Romano with me to a meeting. Not only did I think I’d be doing Raelyn a favor by getting Romano out of her hair, I’d be training Romano. I wanted to begin exposing Romano little by little of the environment he is soon going to be acquainted with.
I had to make a mental note to speak with Gianna as well about her son. Marcelo as well could be a target since he’s my blood.
I could see the other members of the Pride beginning to get fond of Romano, teasing him and making him believe he’s got the look down. My phone began to buzz, and I knew I was getting a call. Picking it up in front of everyone, I was slightly surprised to see it was a call from Alessio.
“Alessio,” I said his name, making him aware to my surprise of his call.
“I just came into contact with the man that I informed you about a week or two ago. He’s the one I suspected was tailing your wife.” Alessio explained. I raised my eyebrows, yet kept a nonchalant composure. My men were listening to the conversation and watching my reactions.
“I assume you’ve already taken care of him.” I said back.
“I made a threat on his life, I couldn’t take extreme actions in such a public place.” Alessio muttered the last part. Poor Alessio. I know he was itching for some action
“Understood.”
“Raelyn might be in danger. I’ve been seeing his face more often than I’d like, which is not a good sign.”
I tapped on the glass table a couple times before asking him a serious question. “Do you think it’s him?”
Immediately, all eyes narrowed in my direction.
“No, I highly doubt it. I doubt the enemy would make himself that vulnerable. Also, This kid
was obviously a coward. Couldn’t do close range if it was offered on a plate.” Alessio said nonchalantly.
I nodded my head, my composure still taut. “Maybe that’s the act he wants to put up. Don’t underestimate him.” I told him.
“Of course. I know he’s also Italian... he just doesn’t belong to us.” Alessio added.
“They say the nail that sticks out, gets hammered the hardest.” I smirked. One of the reasons I valued Alessio and chose him to protect my wife, is because he has such a damn good eye.
“I’ve already let him know what’s to come if I see him again.”
“The information was useful. Then again, I know you didn’t just call me to say you’ve settled an issue.” I said, an eyebrow raised.
Alessio chuckled. “Of course not. He left behind a note. He’s a slick bastard. He had dropped it on the ground near Raelyn’s table when walking bye. Raelyn saw it and then gave it to me.”
You could hear a pin drop in the room. Romano looked around, curious as to what was going on. “What does it read?” I asked Alessio.
“S, did you know? I assume the S stands for your name.” Alessio explained.
“I need an image of this note.” I told him.
“I’ve just sent it.” Alessio said back. I opened the image Alessio texted to me and read it. The wrinkled note in crooked handwriting read:
S, did you know?
I turned my phone to show the others.
“Where are you and Raelyn?” I asked Alessio over the phone. I could feel my temperature boiling.
“I’ve brought her back home. Caterina is also here with us.”
“Good.” I replied. So Caterina is back from her trip. Now, I have to worry about her too.
“I have reason to believe this guy is connected to the enemy. There is no innocence in coincidence. As Alessio said before, he’s also an Italian, but a foreigner to us.” I started.
Romano crosses his arms yet again and nodded his head.
“You think he could be part of The Brotherhood?” Angelo asked.
“I’d like to believe that, but there are a few mobs out here in Boston as well. Enrico, I need you and your team to do an intensive search to find him. Look for any links.” I said.
***
I nodded to Alessio as I slipped the folded note he told me about over the phone, in my pocket. Romano was over my shoulder, asleep. It had to be about eleven in the night and I was prepared for Raelyn to chew me out.
Alessio had notified me that Raelyn was out on the balcony. I found that quite odd considering the time of day. I gently laid Romano down on the couch, propping his head up to lay on a pillow.
I slid the glass door open and Raelyn turned her head to see who had made an entrance. I expected her to give me a smile or even walk towards me to give me a kiss. Instead, she just turned her whole body and stayed in the same place.
I walked towards her and when I was close enough, I gently pinched her chin, tilting her head up so I could kiss her. Before I could, Raelyn spoke. “So, you’re finally home.” She said, taking my hand and bringing it back down. “You know this is the time I usually come home.” I said, not understanding where she was getting at.
“I thought you’d come earlier because of Romano.” Her eyebrows furrowed and her arms were crossed. “It’s not good for him to be awake this late and you know that.” Her tone had an edge to it and she gave me a knowing look.
“It’s not going to kill him.” I said leaning on the rail, Raelyn’s body was trapped between me and the bar.
She closed her eyes. “Please, don’t say that word.” She sighed. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she maneuvered around me and walked into the living room, looking for Romano’s sleeping body.
“You don’t need to worry, Raelyn. I took care of him. We went out to eat dinner at a local restaurant and he even took his nap during the meeting.” I informed her. I knew exactly what she was thinking as she picked him up.
“Okay, that’s good.” Her voice got smaller and smaller as she carefully ascended the stairs
Chapter 7
“S, did you know?” I muttered, my eyes narrowed as I reread the crinkled note in between my fingers. One arm was folded behind my head as I stared up straight into the note. I’ve been laying like this since I opened my eyes this morning.
No matter how many times I read this, I still found it pointless to keep staring at it since it didn’t even give much information or clues. It’s been three days since Alessio had given me this note and I still couldn’t decode it. I considered the probability that it was just meant to mess with my head. What is it that I don’t know?
Whoever this was enjoyed fucking with me.
Shifting my eyes to the left, I saw that Raelyn had sat up and moved the covers off of her body. My eyes followed her as she walked towards the bathroom. I raised an eyebrow as she closed the door without so much as a good morning. Grinning, I put the folded piece of paper in my drawer and made my way into the bathroom.
I went in the bathroom, making Raelyn glance at me as she brushed her teeth. I pressed my tongue to the inside of my cheek as I smeared the toothpaste onto my toothbrush. Raelyn raised her eyebrows at me when she realized I was eyeing her through the mirror. She finished brushing her teeth before me and left.
I wiped my face after I finished and continued to bother Raelyn some more. I walked in on her as she began going through her closet to find something to wear. “I’m stopping by to see my mom, today.” She told me as she heard my footsteps.
So she speaks.
I walked up to her and gently placed my hands on her waist, pulling her away from the closet. I made sure I towered over her with her back against the wall. “What’s wrong, Raelyn? You didn’t even kiss me or look at me this morning. You’re being so unfair to me. It’s not right.” My eyes were narrowed on her form as I spoke.
Raelyn frowned and avoided eye contact with me as she spoke. “I don’t know Stefano, I don’t-”
I held her chin with my thumb and index finger, and turned her head so she could look at me. Her big, deep brown eyes that I admired, stared back at me. “Is there something I did wrong?” I asked her. The last thing I wanted was division and tension between Rae and I.
Raelyn shifted her gaze downwards, perhaps thinking of what was bothering her. All of a sudden, she gave me a warm smile. “Nothing, I just haven’t been feeling myself lately.” She told me. I frowned but then spoke up. “Well we can talk about it later when I come back.” I said as she maneuvered around me with a small smile. “Thanks, but I’m okay, Stefano.” She said again. I knitted my eyebrows at her words and previous actions.
I wanted to take Raelyn for her word but I still felt as though she was holding back how she really felt. I decided to let this go and worry about it later. I knew it would come back to bite me in the ass.
“I’ll be taking Romano today.” I let her know.
Raelyn slid her jeans on as she replied. “Oh..thats fine. I guess I don’t have to worry. I’ll get Romano dressed.” She said the last part lowly, fixing her shirt as she walked out the room.
There was something about Raelyn’s behavior that I didn’t like. I had to let it go for now since I had another matter to take care of.
***
“There's…nothing. For the past three days, there’s been no suspicious activity and neither has there been a sighting of the bastard Alessio told us about.” Angelo said throwing up his hands.
“They’re probably getting lazy.” Louise said, earning a scoff. “I doubt they’d do all this for nothing.” Thomas added his piece with a mutter.
“Since Alessio confronted him, everything has ceased.” Ricardo added to what Thomas had said.
“Could it really have been him? We can’t go off solely on that pattern.” Louise chimed in.
“We have some new information on a certain gentleman.” Enrico entered the room with some freshly printed information. He passed around the same copies to everyone.
“Marco Segreto.” I read the name from the sheet.
“I have every reason to believe that is not his real name.” Enrico started, making me furrow my eyebrows. “Then what the fuck is this, Enrico?” Angelo asked. It was always obvious he was the youngest among us, with his quick bursts. Ironically, he is our newest member.
“Let me explain. As I said, this could be his fake name. His surname, Segreto, origins from the meaning, secret or spy. I don’t think this is a coincidence seeing as he was stalking your wife. I also have a gut feeling that he is the fall guy, the under dog.” Enrico explained.
Louise spoke up, stroking his chin. “We have to capture him immediately. If we cannot, we have to find where he comes from.”
“I’ve contacted our partners from different mobs within Massachusetts’s and none have claimed him. He’s not even on a missing soldier list here. But, I was successful in finding out he’s actually from New York.” Enrico said back. I smirked. He never failed. I knew it was a good idea for me to put Enrico up to the intensive search on him.
“How did you find that out? I know Marco Morelli is a tough nut to crack when it comes to releasing information.” I asked Enrico.
“Interestingly enough, The Brooklyn band has been looking for a runaway member for a couple months now. The member they’re looking for is Algosto Barresi. I found that out on an individual search. When I had a conversation with Morelli and his tracking team, he only told me that the man I might be looking for, is Marco Segreto based on description. They were even generous enough to give us a picture.” Enrico placed a printed picture of a masculine face, down on the table.
The man’s hair was shaved in this one. According to Alessio, he had shaggy hair. I saw the scar on his chin and took note that our suspect didn’t have much facial hair. I took a picture of the paper. “I will show Alessio this picture to confirm if they’re the same guy.” I informed them, earning nods.
“He should be 23, 6’3, and 190 lbs. At least, that’s all the information The Band, gave us.” Enrico read his report.
Of Mobsters and Men: WILD (Book #2) Page 4